Historic Torrey West House to be Rehabilitated

Ossabaw Island’s Historic Torrey West House to be Rehabilitated
State of Georgia to begin project in FY 2024-2025

The Ossabaw Island Foundation (TOIF) is pleased to announce that the State of Georgia
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) 2024-2025 budget includes full funding for the
rehabilitation of the Torrey West House, the Little Torrey House, and the Garage/Studio,
located on the Torrey West Estate on Ossabaw Island in Chatham County, Georgia on the
Atlantic coast.
“The Ossabaw Island Foundation is over the moon that the rehabilitation of the Torrey West
House, the Little Torrey House and the Torrey Garage is funded in the next state budget,” said
Elizabeth DuBose, Executive Director. “We’re grateful to Governor Kemp for his inclusion of this
project in his proposed budget that was approved by the General Assembly during the 2024
session.”
The three buildings on the 23-acre Torrey West Estate, circa 1926 and 1950, were included in
the sale of Ossabaw Island by the Torrey-West family to the State of Georgia in 1978. The
Torrey West Estate was managed by Eleanor “Sandy” Torrey West in a life estate tenancy until
her death in 2021, when management of the Torrey West Estate reverted to the State of
Georgia and the Ossabaw Island Foundation. The iconic Spanish Revival 20,000 square foot
Torrey West House and its two outbuildings are contributing structures in the Ossabaw Island
Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The DNR Engineering and Construction Division will lead the project. On-island work will begin
in late fall 2024 and is projected to take at least two years. TOIF’s Elizabeth DuBose is an
advisor on this state “construction” project and has worked closely with DNR since last year in
the planning of this hoped-for outcome.